Custom content for July 5, 2013, issue of 'AOPA ePilot'

July 5, 2013

The following stories from the July 05, 2013 edition of AOPA ePilot were provided to AOPA members who expressed an interest in the particular subject areas. Any AOPA member can receive information tailored to their areas of interest by updating their preferences online.

That speed of growth is important because it helps you set a freshness date on your weather briefing and periodic updates. Since it doesn't take long for convective conditions to develop, any conditions conducive to convection in your flight's weather profile deserve constant monitoring.

Even if thunderstorms are not specifically mentioned in your briefing, indicators—high dew points, an unstable atmosphere, an approaching front—should put you on alert. If you will depart in a hazy, stable air mass with reduced visibility and fly toward an advancing front, be wary of embedded weather hazards.

Just before heading out, give weather radar a final glance on a computer terminal; animating the display will show you the speed, direction and intensity of areas of precip. Not available? Then make sure you can read and decode a radar weather report (RAREP). There is an example on page 12-10 of the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.

Once airborne, remember that a squall line can develop ahead of an advancing front—also with little warning. Note the navaids that transmit hazardous in-flight weather advisory service broadcasts; a HIWAS broadcast may be your first clue that conditions are changing for the worse.

One of the many benefits of receiving flight following services from ATC is hearing any announcement that a convective sigmet has been issued. Follow up with HIWAS, or give flight watch a call.

Perilous is any decision to land in haste at an airport in the path of an approaching storm. If you win the race to the airport, a gust front—or worse, a microburst—could still beat you to the punch.

"The wind's downward movement is part of the danger when an aircraft flies into a microburst. But, the biggest danger is a sudden shift in wind direction," wrote meteorologist Jack Williams in this installment of "The Weather Never Sleeps" in AOPA Flight Training magazine.

In any scenario involving thunderstorms, safety requires putting as much distance as possible between you and the rough stuff. Some pilots try to shave that margin. That's a losing bet.

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Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.

final exam

Question: I am a flight instructor and I hold instrument and airplane/single-engine, land ratings on my flight instructor certificate. Can I can give instrument instruction in a multiengine airplane since I hold airplane/multiengine, land on my commercial pilot certificate and I'm not giving any instruction that will lead to a multiengine rating?

Answer: No, FAR 61.195 states that a flight instructor may not conduct flight training in any aircraft for which the flight instructor does not hold a pilot certificate and flight instructor certificate with the applicable category and class ratings. So, in order for a CFII to teach instrument flying in a multiengine airplane, the CFII also needs to hold multiengine privileges on his or her flight instructor certificate. Here's a link to the regulation, FAR 61.195, if you'd like to take a look.

Mark Scheuer was tired of yelling at his wife across the noisy cockpit of their Grumman Yankee, and he thought there had to be a better way of communicating. PS Engineering Inc. was born out of that necessity and is now celebrating its third decade of forging new ground in cockpit communication technology.